on time, the construction of the Olympic village is completed

The Paris 2024 athletes’ village, with a capacity of 14,250 beds, will be delivered on December 31 and then inaugurated on February 29.

The elevators are functional, the switches too… “That’s it, we’re there”, welcomes Nicolas Ferrand, the executive general director of Solideo, the company in charge of the construction of the Olympic works, to the press, Tuesday December 19. In 12 days, on December 31, the construction phase of the Olympic village will be completed and the “lifting of reserves” stage, to refine the facilities, will be carried out between January and February. The athletes’ village will be inaugurated on February 29 and the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) will then have the keys to fit out the premises and equip them with furniture.

The scaffolding has disappeared, now it’s time for the gardeners. On the athletes’ village site, it is time to finish work on public roads, while the construction of almost all of the buildings has been completed. “We have visited 80% of the housing. All the electrical and heating systems are working, now we are focused on public spaces. We are in the process of finishing the streets and green space companies are working to plant 1 000 large trees and 7,000 young plants”describes Henri Specht, director of the athletes’ village for Solideo.

Among these plantations, a 12 meter high oak tree has taken its place in the heart of the future Olympic square. In the surrounding area, workers are completing the installation of a ramp and air purifiers, and finishing the development of the banks of the Seine. Opposite, on the island of Saint-Denis, three buildings, representing 500 of the 14,250 beds in the village, will be the only ones delivered late, because their developer saw one of its builders go bankrupt. In the heart of the village, the Maxwell hall will be delivered on time. A former electricity production hall, built in 1903, it has been renovated and will serve as a fitness room for athletes, before becoming a campus for the Ministry of the Interior.

Far from the peak of 3,500 workers present on the site a few months ago, there will only be 850 working in January, and 550 in February for finishing touches, such as installing a bench or light spots. “But we will come back after the Games for reversibility work, anticipates Nicolas Ferrand. The Cojo will strip the accommodations at the end of the event, then they will be handed over to the promoters on November 1st. There will then be work to be done so that they can be habitable, since the accommodation does not have a kitchen and the living room is cut in two to make additional bedrooms with partitions that will have to be removed.. The first residents should be able to take possession of the premises by mid-2025.

Competition venues will be delivered on time

The athletes’ village will not be the first Olympic project delivered, since the Yves-du-Manoir departmental stadium in Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine), which will host field hockey, was renovated and inaugurated on Monday December 18. At the Arena Porte de la Chapelle, scene of badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events, “the work is finished and the operations prior to acceptance have begun, including testing of the air conditioning and heating devices”, assures Nicolas Ferrand. A first basketball match will be played there on February 11 and the venue will be made available to Paris 2024 on April 26.

Concerning the Olympic Aquatic Center, its pools are now full of water. “This is what we call the first water, which is more colored and which is used in particular to check the tightness, before being emptied”, explains Nicolas Ferrand. The keys to the venue will be handed over to Cojo in April 2024, like those of the Grand Palais, which will host the fencing and taekwondo events. “The large nave is finished. Today the work is taking place in the galleries”, describes the executive general director of Solideo. Training sites, such as the renovated Georges Vallerey swimming pool (20th arrondissement), will be the last structures made available to organizers of the Paris 2024 Games in June.